NO HOLDS BARRED

(Floyd Mayweather Photo Credit: Ed Mulholland/Golden Boy Promotions)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews and provides analysis of the May 3 Floyd Mayweather-Marcos Maidana and May 10 Bermane Stiverne-Chris Arreola fights.

The pound-for-pound king Mayweather (45-0, 26 KOs) will be fighting a welterweight title unification fight with Maidana (35-3, 31 KOs) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, this Saturday, May 3. This fight headlines a card which will be televised live on Showtime pay-per-view in the U.S., BoxNation in the U.K., Main Event pay-per-view in Australia, and many other networks around the world, as well as being shown live in select movie theaters.

We have excerpted some poignant comments from Mayweather, Maidana, and his trainer Robert Garcia, on their recent media conference calls.

The following week, on Saturday, May 10, the WBC heavyweight title will be determined as two veterans, Bermane Stiverne and Chris Arreola, meet at the USC Galen Center on the campus of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. This fight will be televised live in the U.S. on ESPN. The WBC title was recently vacated by Vitali Klitschko so he could focus on his political career in Ukraine amidst the ongoing events there.

This fight is actually a rematch between Stiverne (23-1-1, 20 KOs) and Arreola (36-3-1, 31 KOs). When they first fought in April 2013, Stiverne upset Arreola, winning a clearcut unanimous decision, knocking him down, and breaking his nose.

We also have excerpted some key comments from both Stiverne and Arreola from their recent media conference calls.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City July 26 and 27, 2014, for the fifth annual MMA World Expo, featuring the Fighters Source U.S. Nationals amateur MMA tournament, two days of ADCC no-gi and gi grappling tournaments, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, catch wrestling competition, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, July 26, and Sunday, July 27, 2014, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: Bermane Stiverne, boxing, Chris Arreola, Eddie Goldman, Floyd Mayweather, Marcos Maidana, No Holds Barred

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with wrestler and former Michigan State Spartans' team captain Curran Jacobs.

He will be wrestling on the card of the Catch Wrestling Alliance International Invitational: The Rebirth.

This event will take place Saturday, June 7, in Collins Court in the John Wooden Center on the campus of UCLA, at 221 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90095-1612.

This invitational event will be held under catch wrestling rules, where you can only win by pin or submission. His opponent will be U.K. catch wrestler Ian Bromley.

We spoke with Curran Jacobs by phone Friday.

After finishing his college wrestling career in 2012 and moving to California to pursue an acting career, Curran Jacobs, like many former college wrestlers, thought that he had "hung up my shoes for good." Then he had dinner with MMA and wrestling legend Randy Couture and wrestling historian and author Mike Chapman.

Discussing his decision to compete in catch wrestling, he said, "Well, it was a pleasant surprise, and it came by me completely by chance. I had dinner with Randy Couture and Mike Chapman in Malibu about a month ago. And Mike was talking about Frank Gotch, one of the greatest American wrestlers of all time, way back in the day. Not too many people are familiar with him, which is unfortunate because he played a huge role in what wrestling is today."

He continued, "I myself wasn't really aware of him until Mike brought him to my attention. I did a little research and was just completely blown away. And I got excited about this catch wrestling ordeal. And Mike told me about Coach Raul Ramirez putting on this tournament, this event on June 7th. And as he was talking about it, I kind of got a little excited and said, 'Where can I sign up?'"

After that, he began training in catch wrestling with Raul Ramirez of the Catch Wrestling Alliance.

We discussed his training in catch wrestling and his transition from American folkstyle wrestling to this discipline, where you can only win by pin or submission. Like many people, he believes that catch wrestling could be successfully revived as a major professional spectator sport.

"I think that it has all the potential in the world," he said. "What's wonderful about it is, it's not complex."

We also discussed how he is encouraging his former teammates at Michigan State to become involved in catch wrestling, how impressed he is with the training he is getting with Raul Ramirez, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City July 26 and 27, 2014, for the fifth annual MMA World Expo, featuring the Fighters Source U.S. Nationals amateur MMA tournament, two days of ADCC no-gi and gi grappling tournaments, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, catch wrestling competition, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, July 26, and Sunday, July 27, 2014, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: catch wrestling, college, Curran Jacobs, Eddie Goldman, Michigan State Spartans, Mike Chapman, No Holds Barred, Randy Couture, Raul Ramirez

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with wrestling legend Wade Schalles, who has just been named the new coach at Scientific Wrestling.

A member of the U.S. National Wrestling Hall of Fame, a two-time NCAA champion, and known as a master pinner, his accomplishments and training were not only in American folkstyle, freestyle, and Greco-Roman wrestling, but also in sambo and judo. In recent years he has been a coach, writer, and television announcer, among carrying out many other duties. Now he takes all his knowledge and experience to focus on the rebirth of catch wrestling.

We spoke with Wade Schalles by phone Wednesday.

"I'm excited. It's going to be a lot of fun," he said.

Noting the recent passing of catch wrestling legend Billy Robinson, whom he replaces as coach at Scientific Wrestling, he said, "To be able to try to replace him, I have big shoes to fill."

We discussed how catch wrestling is really "the grandfather of MMA today," how "every martial art has spun off of wrestling," teaching catch wrestling both for MMA and for catch wrestling competition itself, why catch wrestling needs to develop itself as a brand, plans for him to lead Scientific Wrestling camps and seminars around the world, some of the problems facing the entire sport of wrestling today, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: catch, catch-as-catch-can, Eddie Goldman, folkstyle, freestyle, Greco, judo, MMA, No Holds Barred, sambo, Scientific Wrestling, Wade Schalles

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses some of the problems evident and lessons from this past weekend's U.S. Open Wrestling Championships and its telecast on NBC's Universal Sports, from Las Vegas, Nevada, including the confusing rules, starting the Jordan Burroughs-David Taylor final after midnight EDT, and poor TV presentation; the latest ridiculous verdict in boxing, with only a split decision win for Bernard Hopkins over Beibut Shumenov in their April 19 light heavyweight title unification fight in Washington, D.C.; and the issue of when or if jiu-jitsu would or could ever be added to the Olympic program.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: Beibut Shumenov, Bernard Hopkins, BJJ, boxing, Eddie Goldman, jiu-jitsu Olympics, No Holds Barred, U.S. Open Wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Michael Rosales, coach of the Texas Catch Wrestling Club.

We spoke with him by phone Thursday.

"We are a catch wrestling club that we practice in the art and we compete whenever we can find actual catch matches," he said. "If not, we're competing in mixed martial arts or regular grappling tournaments."

He also noted that the club was actually "established in 2001, which makes us one of the oldest clubs of the neo-catch movement."

The next catch wrestling tournament in which wrestlers from the Texas Catch Wrestling Club will compete is the Monolith Grapplings Arts Catch Wrestling Tournament. Sanctioned by the ISWA (International Submission Wrestling Alliance), this tournament takes place Saturday, May 31, at Eastside Austin Elite MMA and Fitness, 507 Calles Street, Austin, Texas 78702.

While the Texas Catch Wrestling Club is currently based in Corpus Christi, Texas, we also discussed their plans to open a new, major facility in Houston.

Calling catch wrestling "a piece of our Americana," he discussed the style that is emphasized at Texas Catch Wrestling, how they teach wrestling as a martial art first and a sport second, and how they have been introducing the use of the pin to grapplers from other styles. Compared to those other styles, he said, catch is faster and "more exciting to watch."

We also discussed the current revival of catch wrestling, how it signifies that "a piece of American history is being brought back," what catch wrestling needs to do to continue to grow, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: catch-as-catch-can, Corpus Christi, Eddie Goldman, grappling, Michael Rosales, MMA, No Holds Barred, submissions, Texas Catch Wrestling Club

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Jon Strickland of the Billy Wicks Foundation.

While coaching wrestlers and fighters, and after recovering from a series of injuries, he will be returning to the mat to wrestle on the card of the Catch Wrestling Alliance International Invitational: The Rebirth.

This event will take place Saturday, June 7, in Collins Court in the John Wooden Center on the campus of UCLA, at 221 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90095-1612.

This invitational event will be held under catch wrestling rules, where you can only win by pin or submission. His opponent will be Canadian MMA fighter and submission grappler Adam Laporte.

We spoke with Jon Strickland by phone Wednesday.

Since 2008, he said that he has had about eight surgeries, while training other athletes.

"Now it's time to focus on Jon a little bit," he said. "I'm going on 43, so I don't know how much longer obviously that I will be able to continue to step out on the mat and do this. I certainly look forward to the opportunity, and am real appreciative for them having me out to do this."

He also explained why wrestling is so important to him, why he hopes that his young son will eventually wrestle but not compete in MMA, and the similarities and differences between catch wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and no-gi grappling.

Another major topic was what catch wrestling must do to re-establish itself as a major sport. "We're going to have to work together for the betterment of the sport," he said. We thus discussed why a democratically-run governing body is needed for catch wrestling, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: alliance, Billy Wicks, catch wrestling, catch-as-catch-can, Eddie Goldman, Foundation, grappling, Jon Strickland, MMA, No Holds Barred, submissions

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with MMA fighter Fallon Fox.

Since coming out in March 2013 as the first openly transgender MMA fighter, she has been the focus of much attention both inside and outside the combat sports. She now regularly writes for Time.com, the web site of "Time", as well as other sites. She was recently named to the prestigious Trans 100 list, has been profiled in numerous publications including in a cover story in the "Chicago Reader", and has been speaking at various events.

In MMA, she rebounded from her first loss in October 2013 to defeat Heather Bassett by a second-round armbar submission at XFO 50 on March 21, 2014, at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois, thus upping her pro record to 4-1.

We spoke with Fallon Fox by phone Saturday.

Discussing the recent increase in visibility of trans people and the growth of the struggle for trans rights, she said, "It's like it all just started rising up in the last year or two, right? Like a lot of trans rights, LGBT rights, have just been happening. And there's a lot of faces, a lot of new things, a lot of trans faces have been coming out lately in the public light. So we have athletes, actors, models, we have doctors, we have people who are doing a lot of things in the trans community, and the community at large, as trans people."

She stressed, "We're all over. And it's a really good time, I think, for trans people."

We discussed how trans people's "silence hasn't been helping us"; why trans people like herself are "just like everyone else"; the growth of the Chicago area, where she is based, as a center of activity for the trans community; her growing acceptance in the MMA community; the adjustments she made in her latest MMA fight; her plans for the future; and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: athletes, Chicago, Eddie Goldman, Fallon Fox, homophobia, LGBT, MMA, No Holds Barred, sports, trans, transphobia

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti.

This is the 1000th show for No Holds Barred as a podcast, and we used this occasion to discuss the past, present, and future of the combat sports.

We spoke with John Perretti, who is in Kyoto, Japan, by Skype Wednesday (Tuesday, New York time).

"You've done a magnificent job, and there's nobody more informed than you. And we disagree not very frequently. Congratulations," he said.

We mainly focused on not only what has gone wrong over the past two decades and more in the combat sports, but what must be done right in the present and future. That, of course, led us directly into a discussion of the prospects for various styles of grappling and wrestling to succeed as popular spectator sports.

Referring to his landmark, if financially unsuccessful, grappling show in October 1997 called "The Contenders", he still noted the potential for grappling and wrestling, including catch wrestling, events.

"Being someone who promoted a catch wrestling-style with 'The Contenders', and the precursor of Abu Dhabi [Combat Club World Submission Fighting Championships], I've always thought that it was a viable alternative," he said.

And despite the fact that "it wasn't promoted properly and all the mistakes that I made that we've spoken about a thousand times, it did appear, even though no one watched it. It was real."

We discussed some of the historical lessons of our experiences in the combat sports, how catch wrestling has to grow while not being "absorbed" into the sleazy world that has ruined and corrupted so many of the combat sports, what type of organization catch wrestling will need, the need for rules which provide compelling action while avoiding the "snooze factor", and much, much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: 1000th show, catch, Contenders, Eddie Goldman, grappling, John Perretti, MMA, No Holds Barred, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Team Lloyd Irvin grappler and fighter DJ "The Kimura Kid" Jackson, and radio host and MMA journalist Bob Carson of Carson's Corner.

We were all at the ADCC New York Nationals 2014, which took place Sunday, April 6, in the Fitzgerald Gymnasium at Queens College in Flushing, New York. We spoke with both DJ Jackson and Bob Carson at this event.

It was a big day for DJ Jackson, as he went 5-0 on the day in this grappling competition, including getting two wins by submission. In doing so, he captured both the superfight and the gold medal in the absolute division. He defeated Garry Tonon of Brunswick BJJ in the superfight by a score of 2 to -1. It turned out that both DJ Jackson and Garry Tonon advanced to the absolute finals, setting up a rematch of the day's earlier action. DJ Jackson won again, but this match was closer, with him edging out Garry Tonon by a score of 0 to -1.

"It went as I expected, because Garry's a tough competitor," DJ Jackson said right after his superfight victory. "The goal is always to get a submission, but getting a submission on a top-level competitor is always hard."

Right after his win in the absolute finals, he said, "Garry played it a lot smarter. After points [started, after five minutes], he never came up again, so there was never an opportunity for me to get a takedown for two points. That was real smart."

We also discussed what he learned from these matches and has to work on, his plans for fighting in amateur MMA and eventually professional MMA, and more.

Bob Carson left this event with an excellent impression.

"I was really, really impressed," he said shortly after leaving the gymnasium. "I was impressed with the level of grappling that we saw." He also noted that the ADCC rules made for a top-notch tournament.

"I was really impressed with the camaraderie among competitors. Very, very good sportsmanship," he added. "The individuals running this event made sure we could see all the action."

He did also emphasize, "The big take home story is, of course, DJ Jackson." And we discussed more about the ADCC New York Nationals 2014, grappling and MMA, and much more.

There is a photo gallery from this event on the ADCC News here.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: ADCC, BJJ, Bob Carson, Carson's Corner, DJ Jackson, Eddie Goldman, grappling, jiu-jitsu, Kimura Kid, New York Nationals, No Holds Barred, no-gi, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with martial artist, catch wrestler, freestyle wrestler, and our correspondent, Qin Yunquan.

She is an instructor for women's and children's self-defense at the Kapap Academy Singapore. She is also helping to build Catch Wrestling Singapore.

At present, she is preparing to wrestle on the card of the Catch Wrestling Alliance International Invitational: The Rebirth.

This event will take place Saturday, June 7, in Collins Court in the John Wooden Center on the campus of UCLA, at 221 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90095-1612.

This invitational event will be held under catch wrestling rules, where you can only win by pin or submission. Her opponent will be named shortly.

We spoke with Qin Yunquan by Skype Friday.

While she is currently recovering from a knee injury, which she said is "not too bad", she expects to resume training shortly and be ready for her June 7 match. Her preparation also included a trip to the two-day Certified Catch Wrestler Training Camp in San Diego, California, February 7-8, with catch wrestling legend Billy Robinson and Jake Shannon of ScientificWrestling.com. This camp turned out to be the last one for Billy Robinson, who passed away February 27 at age 75.

Discussing some of the submission techniques which she learned from Billy Robinson, she said, "Billy Robinson taught me a lot of the submissions that uses a lot of deception." She went on, "A lot of people when they grapple, they go on with brute force, and it's almost predictable what they're going to do next."

Billy Robinson, she noted, taught many different setups. "So you think he's doing something, and yet you're really going for the arm or the leg, and you're not protecting against it."

And that deception is something that is very useful against many opponents. "They're going to know all the predictable moves of, for example, BJJ or even wrestling."

We also discussed her continuing work in providing self-defense training; the use of technology, social media, and apps in popularizing catch wrestling; how combat sports in general and various styles of grappling and wrestling are growing in Singapore; and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: Billy Robinson, Catch Wrestling Alliance, Eddie Goldman, grappling, International Invitational Rebirth, Kapap, No Holds Barred, Qin Yunquan, Singapore, submission

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Dan Kanagie of the North American Catch Wrestling Association (NACWA).

He updated us on the next event for the NACWA, called the Virginia Shooter's Challenge, which will take place this Saturday, April 5. It will be held at the Amherst County High School, 139 Lancer Lane, Amherst, Virginia 24521.

The Virginia Shooter's Challenge is a regional qualifier for this year's NACWA national tournament, the Liberty Bell Classic, which will be held later this year.

This tournament will be held under traditional American catch wrestling rules, where you can only win by submission or pin. The matches will not have any points scored, as they are based on a win, lose, or draw format. There are no divisions by experience level in order to stop sandbagging. All kinds of submissions are allowed, except groin attacks, fish hooking, spitting, biting, eye gouging, hair grabbing, intentional striking, and kicking. Athletes from all styles, schools, and organizations are welcome.

We spoke with Dan Kanagie by phone Wednesday.

"Things are looking good for our second event," he said. But he is realistic that the revival of catch wrestling is just in its earliest stages. "Being new and doing the whole grassroots thing, we're not actually expecting a massive turnout in the thousands, but for being our second event, it's looking really good."

With about 20 wrestlers already pre-registered, he said, "That should be a nice turnout, double the size of the last one."

Later this month, he will also start teaching regular catch wrestling classes at the Primal Gym in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

We also discussed how grapplers from various styles are adapting to the rules and techniques of catch wrestling, the issues of governance and a governing body for catch wrestling as it continues to develop, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: Dan Kanagie, Eddie Goldman, grappling, NACWA, No Holds Barred, North American Catch Wrestling Association, submission, Virginia Shooter's Challenge

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with longtime boxing and baseball journalist Wallace Matthews.

After being one of the most prominent and respected boxing writers for decades as well as covering other sports since 1983 as a reporter, columnist, radio host, and TV commentator for Newsday, the New York Post, the New York Sun, and ESPN New York 98.7 FM, he is now covering the New York Yankees for ESPNNewYork.com.

We spoke with him by phone Tuesday.

"It's kind of like I'm doing my career backwards, because most people start out doing a team beat like I'm doing now, and then move on to write a column. I kind of did it the opposite way. I did boxing for a long time and I wrote a general column for about 15 years, and now I'm a beat man for ESPNNewYork on the Yankees," he said.

"They are a very interesting team, a team that keeps you busy, because there's never any shortage of storylines. And a very, very different world from covering boxing, I must tell you."

But he added, "I wouldn't say that it's a world I prefer, I must tell you. I really enjoyed covering boxing. I think it was the best time in my life and the best time in my career. But it does have its own challenges, and I'm never bored, I'll tell you that much. I'm never bored covering the Yankees."

We discussed why he enjoys boxing so much and sees it as the greatest test for an athlete in any sport, the difference in the athletes in boxing and baseball, the lack of adequate safety precautions for boxers by the political appointees on state commissions, the risks of brain damage in boxing, the failure of much of the boxing and general sports media to address the problems in the sport, and why he would go back to covering boxing if he had the opportunity.

We also discussed baseball and the New York Yankees, including some of the issues around the Biogenesis doping scandal and Alex Rodriguez, why he does not like doing predictions of a team's chances before the season but has to do so anyway, the failure of much of the baseball and general sports media to address the problems in the sport, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: baseball, boxing, Eddie Goldman, ESPN, media, New York, No Holds Barred, Wallace Matthews, Yankees

by Eddie Goldman

BROOKLYN, April 1 -- At a packed news conference held outdoors on the famed Boardwalk at Coney Island, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach today announced that the 2016 Summer Olympics are being moved from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Brooklyn, New York, USA.

"We are well aware of the massive protests, unpopularity, and allegations of corruption about the present plans to hold the 2016 Olympics in Rio," he said. "The executive board of the IOC has thus voted unanimously to move it to the sporting capital of the world, Brooklyn. We never want to embarrass ourselves with the public."

He added, "The IOC deeply regrets the problems caused for the people of Rio and Brazil. We thus will fully compensate anyone in Brazil who was inconvenienced by us, including the people of the favelas."

He continued, "We also always strive to make the Olympics affordable for the average person. Thus, we have decided that admission to all events in the 2016 Brooklyn Olympics will be US$2.50, the current price of a subway ride in New York, as well as providing free Metrocards to all ticket-holders so they can use public transit."

Since there is an unusually short period of time to prepare for the Olympics in Brooklyn, he announced that the events will be mainly held at existing facilities, including the Coney Island Aquarium and Boardwalk, Gleason's Gym, Floyd Bennett Field, MCU Park, the Barclays Center, Brooklyn College, the Millennium and Oceana Theatres, and on Eastern Parkway.

The IOC will also finance the entire cost for the rebuilding of the former home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Ebbets Field, which will serve as the Olympic stadium.

In a separate statement, Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers, which abandoned Brooklyn after the 1957 season, announced that the team will permanently return home in 2016.

To make the Brooklyn Olympics more enticing to the people of Brooklyn and the surrounding area, the following traditional events have been added to the Olympic program: stickball, hot dog eating, subway car racing, and roller coaster riding.

Because the people of Brooklyn share with the people of Brazil a great tradition of mat sports, the IOC will also add Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, no-gi grappling, and catch wrestling to the 2016 Brooklyn Olympics. "We do try to do the right thing," said Bach.

Added to the membership of the IOC are the following, all of whom were born in Brooklyn: boxing legend Mike Tyson; baseball legend Sandy Koufax: pro wrestling legend Steve Lombardi AKA the Brooklyn Brawler; wrestling legend Coach George Hero of Midwood High School; and combat sports media legend Eddie Goldman.

The reaction from longtime Brooklynites to these announcements was overwhelmingly positive.

When asked if he approved of them, the Brooklyn-born actor and dancer Jerome Lester Horwitz replied, "Soitenly!"

"Well, I hope you liked the 2014 edition of my April Fool's Day prank," said Eddie Goldman. "But if you don't like it, then tough noogies."

Labels: 2016 Olympics, April Fool's, BJJ, Brazil, Brooklyn, catch wrestling, Eddie Goldman, grappling, No Holds Barred, Rio de Janeiro